Not Fine
by KeiylaD
Summary: Irisa is feeling under the weather and gets into some trouble with other Irathients. Tommy is left to pick up the pieces.


**Author: KeiylaD (on ) and castithientogenes (my Defiance tumblr)**

**Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoy this one! I loved writing it; I intended to only write a few paragraphs but got sucked in and finished the whole thing. The Irathient woman is the same one that can be seen at the beginning of episode 1x03, just so you know since I didn't describe her very well. I think her name is Rynn, but I wasn't sure so I just didn't include it. Hope you enjoy this! This is just a one-shot, but I may write other stories with Tommy and Irisa in the future. :)**

The streets of Defiance were full of activity, even in the dark of night. Lights flickered in shops and houses, people ran through the streets; there was screaming and cheering coming from the Castithan night club down the street, and it sounded like a dog had gotten loose and was causing trouble. To an old sheriff and deputy these were the things to pay attention to, but Tommy had learned differently. In this new world it was those little details that had to be set aside for the bigger picture.

Clancy had taught him that. Clancy had taught him everything about being a good lawkeeper. About how, in this mixing pot of a town where Votans lived together, it was better to leave things as they were unless he was called for. Tommy tried to remember that when he saw things in the town that he didn't like. Plenty of the Votans did things he didn't find right... but it was their culture, and Clancy had taught him the importance of respecting that.

He had been wandering around the town for a number of minutes, but was currently on his way back to the lawkeeper's office. There had been nothing of interest to investigate around town; he had contemplated making an appearance in one of the nightclubs, but decided against it because the alien music tended to give him a headache.

The area around the lawkeeper's office was just as quiet as normal; it was out of the way of the late-night shops and other parts of town. Tommy pulled the door open and stepped inside but was startled by the clatter of something metal on the ground. He reached for the closest lamp but suddenly there was a bright light in his face.

'Hey!" he shouted, his gun immediately up in position to shoot into the darkness. It proved unnecessary, however, when the light in his face flashed away. A familiar voice came from the darkness.

"It's you."

Tommy recognized it and immediately lowered his gun as light from a lamp on the desk flickered into being. Irisa had her hand up shielding her eyes. Her hair was a bit messed up, and she looked... peeved. And her voice sounded off too. Hoarser, weaker.

"Why're you here?" Tommy inquired, removing his weapon and laying it across a shelf in the back of the room. He grabbed a chair that was leaning against the wall and pulled it up, straddling it and resting his hands on the backrest.

"Why are you here?" Irisa shot back after a moment. Tommy almost laughed; he should have known she wouldn't just answer the question.

"This is my office."

"It's the lawkeeper's office."

"I'm a lawkeeper," Tommy told her.

"Nolan is the lawkeeper," Irisa pointed out. Tommy sighed and looked at her for a moment, assessing why her temper was even worse than normal.

"You still haven't answered the question," he said after a moment, still looking at her. Irisa flicked her eyes up at him for a moment, and then her eyelids shuddered and she dropped her gaze again.

"Nolan's at the NeedWant. Someone had to be here." She pointed to the badge that she wore on her shoulder. "And I'm expecting someone."

"Here?" Tommy asked, glancing at the door. "Who'd be coming here for you?"

"The Irath bitch took my knife," Irisa said, sounding angry. Tommy supposed she meant the woman that had ridden into town with the Spirit Riders. "Took it off me today and wouldn't give it back. Amanda told her to bring it here." She coughed lightly, and then harder and harder. After a moment she held her head in her hands.

"You look sick," Tommy observed. "Is that why you didn't fight her for the knife earlier?" Irisa didn't answer, nor move her hands from around the back of her neck. "Here, have some water." Tommy offered his canteen to her.

Irisa shook her head at him. "I'm fine." She clutched her head harder.

"You're not fine," he told her. "Take a drink."

Irisa glared at him, but she picked up the canteen and unscrewed the lid to pour it into her mouth.

"There's some people up at the infirmary who've been passing out," Tommy remembered. "Is that how you feel?"

Irisa was opening her mouth to answer when the door flew open. Their view of outside was blocked by a tall figure with curly hair. As the Irathient woman stepped into the room, so did another, larger figure; the tall Irath male that led the Spirit Riders. Tommy didn't know their names, nor did he especially want to.

The woman walked forward, swaying her body back and forth, as she approached the desk. Irisa stood up quickly, catching herself on the desk. The color drained from her face, leaving her birthmarks sticking out rather colorfully on her skin.

"Is this what you wanted?" the woman taunted, pulling a rather long dagger from inside her shirt. She waved it around in front of Irisa with a feral grin, trying to get a rise out of Irisa. Tommy watched her closely, hoping that there wouldn't be any trouble.

"Just give her the damn knife," said the taller Irath in the back. "Do it."

The woman pouted at him and tossed the knife at Irisa. Her reaction wasn't quick enough - it grazed her forehead and sent her stumbling backwards. Tommy glared at the Irathients, knowing that Irisa was sick and the taunting made her feel worse.

"Go," growled the Irathient man, pulling the woman back and pushing her out the door. Tommy moved his attention from them to Irisa - she was swaying on the spot. She had reached down to pick up her knife, but it had just dropped from her fingers again and as she stood up, he saw her eyes go blank. Just as her knees buckled he lunged forward to grab her, pulling her smaller form up onto the chair where she was supported.

With a sigh, Tommy picked her knife up and lodged it in his belt, knowing that she would want it. He waited a few moments in case she had only barely fainted, but she seemed to be unconscious, and so he stuck his arms beneath her figure and lifted her up with a grunt.

The walk to the medical office was longer than Tommy had thought. Irisa wasn't heavy, but she wasn't particularly light either. Her various sheaths and holders sported a number of weapons that added to her weight. He didn't mind, though. It was a shame that she was sick, but she looked so peaceful while she slept. The angry expression on her face disappeared and the lines of her expression smoothed. She was Irathient, and the strange physical features she had were different, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

The door to the medical office was closed, and Tommy had to knock three times before it was opened for him. Yewll stood in the way, her hands on her hips, her darkly outlined eyes staring him down.

"What did you do to her?" Yewll asked, pointing to a bed on the far side of the room. Tommy carried her to it and laid her down as gently as he could manage; his arms were shaking from the strain of carrying her.

"She's sick, Doc," he said. "Passed out up at the lawkeeper's office."

"Great." Tommy could hear the sarcasm in Yewll's voice without difficulty. "She's got what the rest of them have, too. She'll be in here for a few days, if I can keep her on the bed."

Tommy knew that the Doctor was only being her usual self. He trusted her to keep Irisa healthy. "Thanks, Doc." He took Irisa's knife from his belt and reached his arm out to lay it on the table next to the cot.

"Uh-uh," Yewll said, pointing at the weapon. "I won't have her pointing anything sharp at me again. Take it home, you can give it back to her when she gets out." She pulled a sheet up over Irisa and then looked at Tommy again. "You might consider taking a bit of polish to it. She'll like that."

Tommy looked down at the weapon with determination in his gaze. He twirled the knife around in his fingers as he walked out the door, contemplating where he might find a nice clean cloth and the proper tools to polish a dagger.

_Hope that was enjoyable! Please review, critique, tell me what you think! :)_


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